Thursday, August 18, 2016

When someone request a custom piece of artwork, they usually already have an idea in their mind. The artist job is to bring that vision into reality.

For this painting, the art patron, Bonnie, wanted an eagle soaring. I had her send me a picture of the wall she was needing the the artwork to hang on.

The first part of the process was for me to send Bonnie some conceptual designs for her to get an idea of what was in my head.

Conceptual designs of painting:

We had to determine the exact size the painting needed to be. Painters tape was placed in the area, then measurements were taken.

It was decided to go with the center image. She requested some "semi-abstract" (I think that's pretty funny). The eagle was more realistic while the background had texture, gold leaf and some abstract components.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Charcoal Drawing

Modern day example (above) of a charcoal portrait drawing. The quality of this medium is excellent. It should always be framed under glass to protect the artwork. Hang thefinished work away from direct sunlight to protect it from UV rays.

The History of Charcoal drawings:

Charcoal was often a key component of cave painting with examples dating back to at least 28,000 years ago.[9]

One of the oldest painting is a picture of a zebra found at the Apollo cave in Namibia.

In the renaissance Charcoal was widely used but few works of art survived due to charcoal particles flaking off the canvas. At the end of the 15th century a process of submerging the drawings in a gum bath was implemented to prevent the charcoal from flaking away. charcoal paintings date as far back as ca.23,000 BC.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Portraits provide a permanent visual reminder of the ties between the generations of your family, expressing the emotional connection between you, your ancestors and your descendants. Long after photographs have faded, portraits remain.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

It’s the light and dark values in relationship to each other and the simplified massing of values that play such an important role in a composition’s design. In addition, those light and dark value relationships impact the quality of light and “luminosity” in a work, as well as strengthening an illusion of space, and atmosphere.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Caravaggio was know to use prostitutes as models, as in this painting of the death of Mary (mother of Jesus). circa1606 It was documented that the painting was rejected by the patron who commissioned it because of that - or the other reason for rejection might have been because of the improper manner in how Mary was depicted.

Monday, April 4, 2016

When it was unveiled a proud Michelangelo stood by and watched as people admired the beautiful Pieta. However, what was pride quickly turned into anger as he overheard a group of people attributing the work to other artists of his time. That anger caused Michelangelo to add one last thing to his sculpture. Going down the sash on the Virgin Mary, Michelangelo carved his name. He later regretted that his emotions got the best of him and vowed to never sign another one of his works again.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Scheele's Green was invented in 1775 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. The pigment was originally prepared by making a solution of sodium carbonate at a temperature of around 90 °C, then slowly adding arsenious oxide, while constantly stirring until everything had dissolved. This produced a sodium arsenite solution. In the 19th century the toxicity of arsenic compounds was not readily known. 19th century journals reported of children wasting away in bright green rooms, of ladies in green dresses swooning and newspaper printers being overcome by arsenic vapors. There is one example of an acute poisoning of children attending a Christmas party where dyed candles were burned. During Napoleon's exile in St. Helena, he resided in a very luxurious room painted bright green, his favorite color. His cause of death is generally believed to be stomach cancer, and arsenic exposure has been linked to an increased risk of gastric carcinoma.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Leonardo da Vinci – The Foetus in the Womb (c 1510-13)

Leonardo expresses the human condition in a nutshell – indeed, his rendition of the womb resembles an opened horsechestnut casing. Inside is the beginning of us all laid bare. Five hundred years ago, this artist and scientist could portray the human mystery with a wonder that is not religious but biologicalhe holds up humanity as a fact of nature. It is for me the most beautiful work of art in the world.

"Hello, I've seen the painting you did of the buggy driver with two mules... As a fun side note, the driver in your painting is my husband, Dave and the "white" mule" is Blue. Dave and Blue are training a new mule here, and together they have trained over 50 mules within a 5 year time span. Dave is also the first driver of a team rig within the city of New Orleans since the 1940's. You have captured a very special moment in your art and I want to thank you for it. When Dave first saw this, he was as a complete loss for words. And as a tour guide for over 15 years, I can tell you THAT rarely happens!"

Saturday, February 27, 2016

When it was unveiled a proud Michelangelo stood by and watched as people admired the beautiful Pieta. However, what was pride quickly turned into anger as he overheard a group of people attributing the work to other artists of his time. That anger caused Michelangelo to add one last thing to his sculpture. Going down the sash on the Virgin Mary, Michelangelo carved his name. He later regretted that his emotions got the best of him and vowed to never sign another one of his works again.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

"Orange, Red, Yellow" is a 1961 color
field painting by Mark Rothko.It sold at Christies for $86,882,500 on May 8,
2012. Dominique de Menil (the patron of his last mural painting) once said
that Rothko's paintings evoke the tragic mystery of our perishable condition.
The silence of God, the unbearable Silence of God."

Personally I don't understand abstract art but find people's interpretations of it very interesting.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

A simple still-life of common objects can reveal the artist's love of color and his passion for the medium he or she uses. In my studio are many such objects, I see them almost everyday. In appreciation of the art of creating art this painting came to be.